The best year of our lives? Study says 1976 was great time to be young

Fun, sea and sand: At play on St Helier beach in Jersey (Image: Mirrorpix)

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it was a year blighted by power cuts, strikes, drought and crippling inflation…

But none of that mattered to kids in 1976 who were basking in the long hot summer, riding choppers, bouncing on Space Hoppers and listening to Abba’s Number One hit Dancing Queen.

A study has found it was the best year to be a child in Britain.

While mums and dads faced a ­crumbling economy and water shortages, their kids were playing in temperatures of 80F (26C), watching the first Muppets Show or Multi-Coloured Swap Shop with Noel Edmonds and Keith Chegwin on TV and flying Peter Powell kites.

Laugh: The Muppets arrived (Image: Rex)

Top of the swaps: Cheggers and Noel

Crime rates were 47% lower than today and there was far less traffic, meaning kids felt safer.

The study by the makers of Rocky chocolate biscuits quizzed people on what they considered was a perfect year to be a child.

Long hot summers, free time to play, parents more hours with parents and having holidays were among the key ingredients.

Using historical data, researchers found 1976 came out of top for fulfilling those points. And 76% of 70s kids agreed.

But last year was the worst to be a child. Fear of crime, fewer playing fields, parents who work long hours and a rubbish summer meant kids felt less happy than their 70s counterpart.

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Bouncer: Space Hopper was all the rage (Image: PA)

Top gears: Chopper bike (Image: Wikipedia)

Historian Dominic Sandbrook, 37, said: “It’s no wonder many look back so fondly on 1976.

“It was a great year to be a child. TV was on top form, but it had not yet become all-dominating, and there’s probably never been a better year for playing outside, thanks to the heatwave.”

A Rocky spokesman added: “This shows 1976 was a simpler time with days of pure fun.”